“Absolutely! He can’t wait to talk to you.”
Micah’s mom walks up behind him and ruffles his hair. “Is Micah bothering you?”
“Not a chance,” I stand up to my full height again and slip my hands in my pockets, “I was just telling him that Xavier couldn’t be here this year, but he wants to call Micah later before you all leave. If that’s okay with you?”
Micah looks up at her with those round, begging eyes. “Please, Mom? It’s Xavier Alexander. He wants to talk to me. On the phone. Isn’t that so cool?”
His excitement is palpable in the air around us, and his bouncing only gets more pronounced with every word he speaks, and every second that passes before his mom answers him. She glances at me and I give her a nod. “He asked me especially last night to find Micah today to call him.”
She looks back down at Micah again and nods. “You can talk to him. But not for too long, Micah. He is a very busy man and we don’t want to take up too much of his time.”
“I won’t, I promise.” Micah looks from her to me. “Do I have time to go play games or can I call him now?”
I chuckle and pull out a strand of tickets from my pocket. “Go play, bud, I’ll go find you when Xavier gets home so we can call him. Okay?”
Micah takes the tickets from my hand slowly, asking, “These are for me?”
“Of course they’re for you. They’re from Xavier. He also told me to make sure you had the best day ever. So go and have some fun.”
“Wowwww,” Micah says in wonderment. “This is so cool.”
“Micah, what do you say?” She gives him that mom look, the one all moms master somewhere in the first couple years of life that tells their kids they know better, and they better correct their actions, or else.
He looks back to me and says a little more sheepishly, “Thank you, and Xavier, for my tickets. I can’t wait to talk to him.”
“We’re happy to do it. Go, have fun.”
Micah takes off, shouting back at his mom where he will be first.
“How are you guys doing? Xavier said, last he heard, the cancer has been responding, but there are other problems?”
She sighs. “Last time we messaged Xavier, we hadn’t had figured the rest out yet, but Micah had tests done this week, yesterday in fact, so we are hopeful. We will know more Monday. We do know his treatment is starting to affect his joints though, we just don’t know how or why. It’s such a hard balancing act. Giving him poison to beat the cancer, but being a treatment made for adults, it’s hard on his little body.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Really.” I reach back into my back pocket for my wallet and pull it out, grabbing one of my business cards with my contact information on it. “Here, take this, if you or Micah need anything, you can give me a call. Between Xavier and me, we will do what we can to help you. Okay?”
“Wow,” she whispers, stunned and with tears welling in her eyes. “Why are you and your brother so giving, so helpful to us?”
“We just know how hard this can be, especially with you being a single mom.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” She steps forward and hugs me, catching me by surprise. I’m not expecting it, and I’m not sure what to do at first. I’m used to this in a professional capacity at the hospital, it happens on occasion, but never on this personal of a level.
“You have already thanked me enough just with this.” I circle my arms around her and hug her back for a moment, letting go the second I feel her body start to pull away. “Xavier and I, even our brother Jackson, wish we could help more. That’s what this is all for. I don’t put my name on it much, for privacy, but we all three contribute and run this foundation.”
“It’s you three who have put a permanent smile on my little boy’s face more times since his diagnosis than I can count. You’re a good man, Dr. Alexander. Thank you. Thank all of you.”
****
Dee
Neither of them knows I’m here and have seen and heard everything they’ve said. I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, and I shouldn’t be listening to such personal information, but I am stunned. I’m beyond stunned. The man I am watching and listening to right now looks like Dr. Alexander, the voices are nearly identical—though this one holds not a single ounce of hostility, but sincerity and compassion instead—yet this man is nowhere near undesirable. He’s nowhere near being an asshole. He is, in fact, very much being Dr. Desirable right now.
I can tell the hug she just wrapped him in made him momentarily uncomfortable, his spine visibly stiffened for the briefest of moments before he relaxed and hugged her back. Based on everything they just discussed, his returned hug probably did more for that woman than he could ever possibly imagine.
She gives him the softest of smiles and says she should probably go find the little boy, Micah, before he blows through all his tickets and then she walks away from him.
Dr. Alexander watches her briefly, pulling his phone out and letting his thumbs fly over the screen. I can’t stand here like a creeper watching forever, so I either have to duck behind something until he walks away, or I’ll have to step forward. My decision is made for me the second I shift on my feet and crack a small branch beneath my shoe.
Dr. Alexander’s head pops up and the carefree smile he just had a few moments ago with the adorable little boy and his mother is gone, replaced by the scowl I’ve grown used to.
“Miss Parker.” His voice is dripping in irritation now. “I see spying is on your list of inadequacies, right next to barging into rooms without knocking.”
“If I’m not mistaken,” I step forward and cross my arms over my chest, “that is an inadequacy you possess as well.” I raise my brows to challenge him, and he says nothing. “I wasn’t spying, I just didn’t want to interrupt. I figured they were getting an extremely rare moment of you not being a jerk, and I didn’t want to risk turning the attitude I’m so used to you having on an innocent, sick little boy.”
Dr. Undesirable is back. Clearly it is just me.
“For your information, I’m not always a jerk, as you phrase it. You are just incredibly adept at pushing my buttons and bringing it out of me.”
“So it is a me thing. That’s great to know. I’ll make sure to steer clear from now on. I hear your PA is far nicer, maybe I’ll avoid your service until she’s back.” I shake my head, irritation prickling my nerves. “You know, if you stopped being a jerk to me for even a few moments, you might realize I’m not the inept, bubble-brained child you seem to take me for.”
“I don’t… You aren’t… What are you doing here?”
I unfold my arms and hold them out wide, revealing my volunteer shirt. “Helping little kids with cancer. What are you doing here?”
“You were the one eavesdropping,” he grates out, “so you should know damn well what I’m doing here.”
That’s a fair accusation. I do know.
“Why doesn’t everyone know you and your brothers put all of this together?”
“Shhh,” he hisses out in irritation. “The founders and backers don’t matter, the kids do. And I have my reasons. So, if you don’t mind, I’d love it if you kept your mouth shut.”
I want to reply with some equally snarky, bitchy response, but there’s something about the subtle change in the look on his face that makes me snap my mouth shut and rethink before I speak. “I’m not going to say a word.” I shrug a single shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it, it was a pleasure as always, Dr. Alexander.” I move to step around him, letting the sarcasm hang between us, until he sticks an arm out to block my passing him.
“Wait,” he exhales then continues in a much kinder tone, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be an asshole. Not today, at least.”
“So does that mean you do every other day you’re one?”
He chuckles a little, and I can feel the lightness of it deep into my body, just like I can feel the warmth of his hand burning through my clothes where it’s still pressed from stopping my walking
by him. “That depends on the day…”
“And, apparently, whether you’re talking to me or someone else.”
“Yes, it depends on that too. But today that doesn’t matter. On behalf of NJX, I just want to thank you for volunteering today. We appreciate it.”
“I’m happy to. I love being around and helping kids.” He drops his hand, and the coolness that spreads is immediate and unwelcome. That realization is equally as unwelcome as the feeling was.
“I’m sorry for being a jerk, too.” The words come out quietly, but when I look up into his eyes, all I see is sincerity and… maybe a hint of amusement in them.
“I accept your apology. And I’m sorry for accidentally overhearing your conversation.”
His laugh in response is loud and full, and the warmth I was feeling from his hand shifts up and fills my heart.
“I accept your apology, too.” He drops his scowl and smiles at me. It’s small, nothing like he had with Micah and his mom, but I’ll take it.
“Can you tell me about him?”
“Who?” His response is guarded, clipped.
“Micah.”
“Oh, right, yeah. He’s a good kid.” His shoulders loosen and he slips his hands back into his jean pockets. The dark-washed denim clings to his hips and runs down his legs, framing the obviously developed muscles in his thighs.
I try to pull my attention back up to his face as I answer, “Who else would I be talking about?”
“Nobody. It doesn’t matter.”
“Right.” I’m sure he thought I meant his brother, and I have to admit, if the Xavier he and Micah were talking about is the Xavier Alexander, then holy fuck. Everyone knows what an amazing hockey player he is. But I’d never pump him for information on his brother. That’s a boundary even I wouldn’t cross. Not even to irritate Dr. Alexander.
“Right?”
“I’m pretty sure I know who you thought I was asking about,” I admit. “I wouldn’t go there. But the little boy, who clearly has cancer—who was thrilled to get a shitload of tickets from you—him I’d ask about.”
To say Dr. Alexander looks stunned would be an understatement, but I’m glad. He doesn’t know me. Even if he thinks he does.
“The kid is Micah. He’s got leukemia. An aggressive, rare form. But he’s a fighter. He loves hockey, so, yes, your assumption is correct. But I would really appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about that to anyone.”
Knowing my assumption his brother is that Xavier Alexander, and seeing his reaction to being asked about it, sends up some questions and warning bells in my mind. Not about him, but about how I approach any subject that may turn toward his brother. It is clearly something he doesn’t want to talk about.
“If I didn’t say anything about what?” I give him a smile, and a wink, so he knows I get it and will comply. His brother is none of my business.
“Thank you. He met Micah two years ago, when he was first diagnosed, and they hit it off. X sends Micah gear and encouragement. He exchanges emails with Micah’s mom when he can. The boy is special.”
“He seemed like a special kid. I noticed when he ran off he was limping a little though. What’s that from?” I slip my own hands into my back pocket and wait for his answer.
“I don’t know specifics, but Micah’s mom did just say his chemo is starting to affect his joints. I’m sure that had something to do with it.”
I nod in understanding. “I can’t even imagine what he and his mom are going through.”
Dr. Alexander nods a little. “So how did you catch his limp? I watched him run away and didn’t see anything unusual.”
“I’m very good at my job, Dr, Alexander. I know you don’t believe it, but I really am.”
“About that,” he responds, “you did a great job with Mr. Kent. Better than I imagined you would. And, if I’m being frank, you did better than the last PT he had at the hospital, too. He actually listened to you, and seemed to comply.”
“Is that an apology I’m not hearing from you?” I tease.
He rolls his eyes, and a small dimple I didn’t catch before shows itself with his grin. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Silent apology accepted, then.” I look around the grounds at the carnival in full swing around us. “You know, this is pretty great.”
“Thanks. It’s important to these families. It’s important to my family.”
Just as I’m about to respond, I hear my name from someone else, and turn my head to find the source. It doesn’t take long to spot Bridget, wearing her own volunteer shirt, along with her husband and children.
Dr. Alexander follows my gaze and sees them next. “Dr. Simon Hogue, his wife, and children seem to be here. Do you know them?”
“I don’t know him. But I know his wife. She’s a nurse at Memorial. And probably my only friend out here. She was the one who invited me to volunteer today.”
“Huh,” Dr. Alexander responds. “You should get to it then, Miss Parker, since your friend is here and you two probably want to work together.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I am here to work, huh?” I glance at him, biting my lip, trying to decide if I should say what’s on my mind or not about his use of my name.
“If you bite your lip any harder it’ll bleed,” he quips. “What smart-ass remark do you have for me this time?”
“Well, it wasn’t going to be one. I was just going to say you can call me Dee,” I continue, louder, before he can interrupt, “but now I’m going to say the man who I was just talking to can call me Dee. The man I talk to in the hospital, who just replaced the nice guy with the jerk again, can continue calling me Miss Parker. He isn’t worthy of knowing me on a first name basis.”
I don’t give him time to reply. I don’t even hesitate for a second to appreciate the look I hope I left on his face. I simply walk right on past him and make my way over to Bridget, her husband, and their kids.
Eight
Nate
I’ve watched her all afternoon and evening. Since the second she gave me an inch then took it back a whole foot because I managed to fall back into my typical, standoffish, asshole behavior with her the second I saw other coworkers. I know hospital staff is volunteering today, but Dee is new, I figured nobody would notice or care if I talked to her. Though she was spying on me, I really enjoyed our conversation until I saw Dr. Hogue and his family watching.
I’m not sure why my tone got clipped and I turned on her then, but I did. It is so engrained in me to not allow anyone I work with to see the personal side of me, it’s only the cold, professional side, a façade she saw slip when I was talking with Micah, and one I kept down while she and I talked.
Surprisingly, she seemed not to give two shits that my brother is hockey great Xavier Alexander. She recognized the name, she knows who he is, but she didn’t do what so many do. She kept our talk to stuff only involving us. She didn’t pry or try to dig deeper. It was nice.
Too nice.
It’s something I should forget about, I should go back to only snapping at her while we work, yet… My brain and my heart are on two different pages, especially now, after I’ve seen her with so many different kids, including Micah.
She is so amazing with them all. Not once has she been intimidated by anything they’ve said or done, she hasn’t shied away from touching them, she hasn’t stopped laughing or smiling even once. She is so at ease with everyone she talks to here, except me.
I know she is on edge with me, same as I am with her. Only, I don’t know if it’s because the same current of electricity simmering beneath the surface I feel every time I’ve been around her is affecting her too. Or if it’s because I’ve succeeded in being such a dick she is on guard—prepared to defend herself and stand up to me with her irritating sarcasm and smart-ass comebacks—and ready to walk away because she can’t stand me.
I want it to be both reasons.
I want it to be neither.
It’s beyond fucked up and my mind is a minefield of
contradictions and little red flags, warning me of the bombs that could explode if I don’t get myself in check and walk the other fucking direction—avoiding Dee Parker at all costs.
I need to walk away. Get her out of my mind. Quit watching her. I just don’t know if I can.
Nine
Dee
Today has been so incredible. Every single person I’ve interacted with—from hospital staff, to high school volunteers, to the incredible families this whole carnival is benefitting—has been wonderful to speak with and have fun with. I’ve made friends with some of the hospital staff, some nurses, and I’ve gotten to know Bridget’s husband better.
Bridget and Dr. Hogue, Simon, are crazy in love. It’s apparent in the way he looks at her, watches her, with a fondness and tenderness I envy and hope to experience one day. She can’t wipe the blissful look from her face when he’s around. It’s one I recognize. Tate wears the same damn look anytime Cody is near. So does Allie when Chase is within a country mile of her for that matter.
It must be nice to be so in love. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that way.
Not even with Mitch.
I sigh and walk into the food tent; my time volunteering is over, so I can enjoy a little fun and put my money to a good cause now that I’ve already put my time to it.
Bridget, Simon, and all three of their kids are inside. Their son is eating a hotdog and drinking an Icee, watching the group of young girls I saw him talking to earlier. I’m not entirely sure how old he is, but he is definitely nearing the age where girls go from being aliens with cooties to being girls: cute, fun to spend time with, and like.
I think.
Their twins are each sitting in Simon’s lap, fingers and faces covered in nacho cheese from their pretzel. Bridget sits across from them, laughing at the twins, while sipping on a beer.
She asked me to meet them in here when I was relieved from my station. Now that I’m here, the smells of the fried food, drinks, and humid summer air mix and match making my stomach growl in hunger, and my mind retreats to memories of last year with my best friend, her man, and the rodeo we went to in Cheyenne.
Doctor Desirable: A Hero Club Novel Page 5
